Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1927/01/01 to 1939/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register:
2007/05/18

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, also known as the Cardinal Church, is a tall wood-frame structure erected in stages between 1927 and 1939 in Cardinal. The municipal designation applies to the church and the grounds it occupies.

Heritage Value

Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, a landmark in the Cardinal area, is a quality example of ecclesiastical architecture in the French and Quebecois classical tradition, as characterized by its symmetry, large nave and formal tower soaring above its surroundings. The wooden structure also symbolizes the fierce pride and commitment of parishioners, who, desiring to establish their own identity and confident in their community's prospects, persevered with the challenges of fundraising and church construction even though this broke with their tradition of attending mass in nearby Notre Dame de Lourdes. Their 1927-29 chapel, expanded a decade later to include a sacristy and tower, was dedicated to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and featured a wooden altar crafted by Francois Blain. Closed in 1960 at a time of Cardinal's decline, the church found new life in the early 1990s when descendants of the area's early residents mobilized to save it with a complete restoration.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church site include:
- its location on the edge of the village of Cardinal, amid mature trees, grassed grounds and rolling agricultural fields